Vol 101, No 2 (2024)

A brief biography of one of the founders of Stellar Astronomy as a science, Pavel Petrovich Parenago, is given. The question of which scientific phenomena and objects in astronomy bear his name is considered.

We invesigate unresolved binary systems with components of main sequence star (MS) and white dwarf (WD) in nine open clusters. These systems are located below and to the left of the main sequence at the colour-magnitude diagram. We compare the number of cluster stars, which have likely evolved into white dwarfs, with the number of candidates for unresolved binary systems with WD. The number of probable cluster members, lying below the main sequence, is generally less than the expected number of white dwarfs. The observations in the ultraviolet could detect WDs and unresolved binary WD+MS systems more confidently than the observations in the visible range.

Observations of the dwarf nova SS Cyg were made in the period 2019–2021 at different brightness values (V ~ 10–12^m) both at the stage of falling radiation flux after the flare maximum, and in the inactive state between flares. Data were obtained in filters R_c (~8650 observations, 3 sets), and V (~50 000 points, 22 sets). The value of the system’s orbital period in 2019–2021 (P_orb = 0.27408(2)^d) used in this study is 0.4% less than the value obtained in 1983–1996. The time resolution between two successive measurements is 6–14 s depending on the equipment used. An extensive database of new observational data allowed us to perform a quantitative analysis of observations. Analysis of the data after taking into account orbital variability and other trends associated with changes in the system’s radiation flux during the night showed the presence of cyclic fluctuations in brightness, usually 4–10 events per orbital cycle — flickering. For most series of observations, the Lafleur-Kinman method determined such a value of the oscillation period at which convolution of observations with it showed a single wave. The obtained values of the characteristic flickering times and their amplitudes show their dependence on the average brightness level of the system. With increasing luminosity of the system, both of these quantities decreased linearly. From the component size ratios SS Cyg it was shown that the source of flickering is located in the region of interaction of the gas flow with the near-disk halo: only this region in the SS Cyg system with parameters (q, i, R_d), defined by the authors earlier, can be eclipsed at large radii disk, and is clearly visible in all other orbital phases of the system.

The B1133+16 pulsar was observed at a frequency of 111 MHz with the LPA PRAO radio telescope from October 2022 to March 2023. Observations were made twice a week for two days in a row. In total 38 measurements of the scattering parameters were carried out with a high frequency resolution (up to 65 Hz). We used continuous recording of voltage in the frequency band 2.5 MHz with 8-bit digitization. The signal was reconstructed using the coherent dedispersion method. Dynamic spectra (DSP) were constructed for each observing session. Then, for each DSP, we calculated a two-dimensional autocorrelation function (2DACF) and analyzed its frequency and time sections. We have studied the fine frequency structure of pulsar scintillations by analyzing both the dynamic spectra, and the spectra of individual pulses. It has been found that the intrinsic shape of diffraction distortion on average can be represented by a sharp two-sided function with a characteristic frequency width of 1–2 kHz. The long-term variability of the following parameters has been carefully studied: characteristic scales in frequency and time ( f_dif and t_dif), and rotation measure RM. Based on the analysis of long-term variations, it is suggested that the true frequency form of scintillations may be distorted by ionospheric effects. We also compared the scintillation parameters separately for the two mean profile components, and no differences between the parameters were found.

Geomagnetic storms have a significant impact on the performance of technical systems both in space and on Earth. The sources of strong geomagnetic storms are most often interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), generated by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar corona. The ICME forecast is based on regular optical observations of the Sun, which make it possible to detect CMEs at the formation stage. It is known that the intensity of geomagnetic storms correlates with the magnitude of the southern component of the magnetic field (B_z) of the ICME. However, it is not possible yet to predict the sign and magnitude of B_z from solar observations for the operational forecast of an arbitrary CME. Under these conditions, a preliminary forecast of the magnetic storm probability can be obtained under the assumption that the strength of the storm is related to the magnitude of the magnetic flux from the eruption region, observed as dimming. In this paper we examine the relationship between the integral magnetic flux from the dimming region and the probability that CMEs associated with them will cause geomagnetic storms, using a series of 37 eruptive events in 2010–2012. It is shown that there is a general trend toward an increase in the ICMEs geoefficiency with an increase in the magnitude of the magnetic flux from the dimming region. It has been demonstrated that the frequency of moderate and severe storms observation increases in cases of complex events associated with the interaction of CMEs with other solar wind streams in the heliosphere.

UBVR polarimetric observations of 12 main-belt mostly primitive asteroids located near perihelion heliocentric distances were carried out from December 2022 to April 2023 with Zeiss-2000 telescope at the Terskol Peak observatory. The purpose of the monitoring program wasto search for changes in the polarimetric parameters of the asteroids caused by possible sublimation-dust activity, as a result of which the formation of rarefied dust exospheres of asteroids is possible. The objects of the program were asteroids: (1) Ceres, (53) Kalypso, (117) Lomia, (164) Eva, (214) Ashera, (324) Bamberga, (419) Aurelia, (505) Cava, (554) Peraga, (654) Zelinda, (704) Interamnia, (1021) Flammario. Polarimetric observations of asteroids (117) Lomia, (164) Eva and (505) Kava were made for the first time, the remaining asteroids were observed earlier. Only for two asteroids (1) Ceres and (704) Interamnia, according to spectrophotometric observations, temporal spectrophotometric variability was noted earlier. Analysis of temporal changes in the degree of polarization of asteroids and comparison of the results of observations with the data available in the literature showed that the stability of the observed degree of polarization is comparable with measurement errors of ~(0.02–0.1)% for asteroids of different brightness. Thus, during the observation period, no noticeable polarization signs of temporary sublimation-dust activity of the observed asteroids were detected. Additionally, it is shown that the currently existing variants of the spectral taxonomy of asteroids, based on spectrophotometric data and albedo, demonstrate a significant scattering of the selected classes when compared with their polarimetric phase dependencies.The asteroid (554) Peraga has been confirmed to have a negative degree of polarization at angles less than the inversion angle. Measurements of the polarization of the asteroid (1) Ceres in a wide range of wavelengths did not confirm the previously suspected change in the angle of the polarization plane with the wavelength.